Please turn to your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Acts chapter 25. Acts chapter 25, I'm going to be beginning at verse 13 and going all the way through chapter 26. That's what we're looking at, and you may recall last week I made mention of the fact that It seems a variety of approaches to chapter 25 and 26 come into play and where they divide how they preach their sermons and how they break it up in commentaries. Well, this is the way I've chosen to do it. Not that anybody else has done it wrong. And in fact, even the passage that we're looking at today, if you were to scan around commentators and look for a main theme, you're not going to find unanimity. Different things are brought out by different individuals. So we'll see what we can do here together this evening. Acts chapter 25 beginning at verse 13. This is the Word of our God. Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus. And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king saying, there was a man left prisoner by Felix. And when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews laid out their case against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone before the accused met the accusers face to face and had the opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge laid against him. So when they came together here, I made no delay, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed. Rather, they had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem to be tried and there regarding them. But when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of the emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar. Then Agrippa said to Festus, I would like to hear the man myself. Tomorrow, said he, you will hear him. So on the next day, Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then, at the command of Fessus, Paul was brought in. And Fessus said, King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. But I found that he had done nothing deserving death. And as he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him. But I have nothing definite to write to my Lord about him. Therefore, I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after we have examined him, I may have something to write. For it seems to me unreasonable in sending a prisoner not to indicate the charges against him." So Agrippa said to Paul, you have permission to speak for yourself. Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense. I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, especially because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently. My manner of life from my youth spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem is known by all the Jews. They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion, I have lived as a Pharisee. And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O King, why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme. And in raging fury against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities. In this connection, I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven brighter than the sun that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads. And I said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but rise and stand upon your feet. For I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. For this reason, the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day, I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass, that the Christ must suffer, and that by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles. And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, you are out of your mind. Your great learning is driving you out of your mind. But Paul said, I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his knowledge. For this has not been done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe. And Agrippa said to Paul, in a short time, would you persuade me to be a Christian? And Paul said, whether short or long, I would to God that not only you, but also all those who hear me this day might become such as I am, except for these change. these chains. Then the king rose and the governor and Bernice and all who were sitting with them. And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, this man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment. And Agrippa said to Thessus, this man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar. May the Lord add his blessing to the reading of his holy word. Now, interestingly enough, what we are witnessing in this text is, in many respects, sort of a foundation and a beginning for even our own nation's law system. There is much credit to the Roman system of law that is given to much of Western society and its use its direction in terms of law, rights to citizens, and so forth. And in many respects, that's what we see in this text. As we've been looking, Paul has been in prison for quite some time. Two years, as has been mentioned earlier. Remember, he spent two years in Caesarea with Felix, Festus' predecessor. In all that time, Felix had the opportunity and heard the gospel from Paul. And even as we saw last week, as Festus comes on the scene and tries to do the Jews a favor, we see that in all of this, God had Paul right where he wanted him. Despite the fact that you and I would look at this and we're thinking, boy, what a waste. Paul could have been here. He could have gone there. Just think of how many people could have heard the gospel. Well, the truth of the matter is the gospel went even without Paul. Paul was in prison and he was there precisely because God wanted him there. And while we may not fully understand all of the details, we need to submit to His wisdom. And so it is with our own lives. Why does God have us where we are? Well, we probably know some of those answers. But I highly doubt you know them all. And so we submit to God's wisdom in all things. Well, Paul is now about to hear or to give his defense before Agrippa. And as I mentioned, there are a number of sub-themes that could be taking place in this text. But one of the things, as Paul gives his defense and he presents, once again, a story that we've already seen him defend, and plus, we looked at the actual events themselves, is that we see what the gospel actually does to people in comparison to just simple facts about the gospel. Thus, what I hope to show this evening is simply this. Paul's defense before Agrippa demonstrates for us the nature of true conversion versus mere knowledge. Paul's defense before Agrippa demonstrates for us the nature of true conversion versus mere knowledge. We're going to look at this under two simple headings. First of all, Agrippa comes to Caesarea. And then secondly, Agrippa hears Paul's defense. So first of all, Agrippa comes to Caesarea. Look again at chapter 25, verse 13. Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus. And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, there is a man left prisoner by Felix. And when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews laid out their case against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. Well, one of the things that we need to do first is take a step back and look at some of the history here. Not the history of Paul, but who is this King Agrippa? Herod Agrippa. Now, we've already seen somebody who had this title, this name, in fact, Herod Agrippa. Do we know what happened to him? Well, we'll come to him in a second. But this Agrippa is actually the great-grandson of Herod the Great. Herod the Great, of course, is the one who was reigning when Jesus was born. It was his plans that were underway and probably, at this time, near completion, finally, for the renovations of the temple that Jesus spoke of. Herod the Great is the one who ordered the babies killed. His son, Herod Antipas, was the one who was in charge and who beheaded John the Baptizer. The nephew of Herod Antipas, who would of course be a grandson to Herod the Great, was Herod Agrippa I. He is the one who killed the Apostle James in Acts chapter 12. He is also the one to whom the people said, the voice of a God, the voice of a God. And he gave no credit, but accepted the praise of men. And the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms. This Herod Agrippa II is his son. And he took over. But the thing is, he did not take over right away. Because at the time of his father's death, he was only about 17. And the Roman officials thought, he's too young. He's not ready. So they sent him off to this little region outside of Palestine, and then eventually brought him back. Well, that's Herod Agrippa II. He comes in with his sister, Bernice. Now, Bernice is an individual who's throughout history known as somebody who had questionable morals. Her morals were less than stellar. You would not want to use her as an example of clean living. In fact, at this time, there were numerous rumors about the relationship of Herod Agrippa II and Bernice. Bernice, later on, not too long after this, would become the mistress of General Titus, who would later become emperor. But General Titus was the one who was in charge and who sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the temple in 70 AD. So this is who is the audience here. We have Festus. for all practical purposes, a Roman hack, Herod Agrippa II, and his sister, Bernice, which, by the way, Felix's wife, Drusilla, was also a sister of Bernice and Herod Agrippa II. What a tangled web we weave. Why people would want to watch soap operas when the Bible has some interesting stories is beyond me. But this is Paul's audience. Festus, Herod, Agrippa II, and his sister, Bernice, plus others, as we'll see. Well, Festus brings Paul's case before Agrippa. Luke provides, interestingly enough, a relatively lengthy description and retelling of Festus' story before Agrippa. And as one reads through Festus' report to Agrippa, it's pretty straightforward. He doesn't really gloss over anything. He recounts that Paul was left by Felix. The Jews had laid their case before him, tried to get him to Jerusalem. He recounts how they came up to Caesarea to lay their case before Festus. Festus admits to Agrippa that there's no charges of which he had supposed might be brought against him. Now, of course, we have no idea what Festus might have thought those charges were that he was expecting to hear. But he realizes, Festus realizes, it was some dispute over their religion, over some guy named Jesus, who Paul claims was actually still alive. Now, he had offered Paul to go to Jerusalem, but Paul declined. Not only did he decline, he appealed to Caesar. And as Festus told him, as we saw last week, to Caesar you have appealed, to Caesar you shall go. A pretty straightforward. Now the rest of chapter 25 we see formalities. The next day Agrippa comes because as Festus said, hey you're going to get to hear him tomorrow. Agrippa was interested. You're going to get him, get to hear him. And so Agrippa comes with Bernice, and as the description here is given, with great pomp, they enter the audience hall, this is verse 23, with the military tribunes and prominent men of the city. So there's an audience, a large audience, a significant audience. Now, if we take a moment and think about one of the reasons why Luke may be retelling this, why Luke may be giving such a detailed description of what Festus said to Agrippa, there's really one simple conclusion. In many respects, what Luke is doing is presenting evidence for Paul, evidence that all the things that are being said, Festus heard it. Agrippa heard it. These military folks, these tribunals, they all heard it. And so this becomes, as sort of an extra issue, a defense of Paul's ministry, a defense that Paul has not done anything against the law, against the law of the Romans, or against anyone. He is simply being a minister. There's nothing else to it. Now as the show begins, no better way to describe it, really, Festus recounts again in a more formal setting about Paul. that he deserved nothing requiring or deserving death. Now, isn't it interesting? Here we are in an official capacity. That is just a show, true, but it is official nonetheless. And Festus is saying publicly for everyone, this man doesn't even deserve death. It almost forces us to beg the question, why are we here? And I think that's really Luke's point. There's no reason we should even be here. And Festus knows it. In part, Luke is writing a defense for Paul. This becomes, as it were in writing, the testimony which Festus and Agrippa both can concur. When eventually Paul gets to Rome, somehow, someway, the information that Luke has here will get into the hands of the emperor. And as Paul's case is laid before the emperor, there's no question witnesses will have to be called. There are numerous witnesses. That's what Luke's point is here. That's Paul's point. Everybody knows it. This is not an issue that we should be dealing with. And you may sit there and you may ask yourself, well, The Romans were concerned about justice to a degree, especially for its own citizens. Why did they keep this going? Well, I wish I had a simple answer for you. I really don't. But the reality is Christians around the world and sometimes Christians even in our own culture face the backlash of the courts for no good reason. It simply shows that at the end of the day, the world hates Christ and his disciples. There may be times in your life that because of your Christianity, your stand for the faith, that you were treated unfairly. Maybe not arrested, but just simply treated unfairly. And you will say, where's the justice? We simply want to do what's right. We're just Christians. We're just sharing the good news of Jesus. We're not disrupting anything. When that unfair treatment comes, how will you react? Will you continue to stand firm as Paul did? or will you react in such a way that really diminishes your testimony of the gospel? And then it says to the world, hey, I'm really no different than anybody else in this world. Stand firm, friends, when people treat you unfairly simply because you're a Christian. This testimony is which so many, in Paul's case, can concur. In other words, in your life, as you were treated unfairly, your life needs to reflect such a demeanor that the world around you can actually concur with what you're trying to say, that you're not doing anything wrong. How often do Christians shoot themselves in the foot? How often do Christians want to have their own Martin Luther moment? I don't think Martin Luther was looking to have a Martin Luther moment. It turned into that. But how many Christians will put on the robe of martyrdom for their own namesake rather than for the name of Christ? The question is, would other people be able to testify of your goodwill, even if they disagree with you? That's what we're seeing here in this text so far. Well, having looked at Agrippa coming to Caesarea, let's move on to Agrippa hearing Paul's defense. Look at chapter 26, verse 1. So Agrippa said to Paul, you have permission to speak for yourself. Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense. Paul begins to speak. Notice that as he begins to speak, he gives a lot of formalities of privilege, that it's my privilege to stand here today before you and offer my defense. Proper greetings. There's no sarcasm here. So one of the things that you ought to take from this is those in positions of authority deserve your respect. Regardless of what you may think of our government officials, they are appointed by God and, as such, deserve your respect. Now, in many respects, a lot of Christians find the current president easier to show respect to because after all, he meshes better with my values. But the previous administration, not so much. When you hear statements such as, well, he's not my president. Yes, he is. You may not like his policies, but he's your president. And you pay him the honor that he is due because God has placed him there. Paul does this. He shows us Romans 13 in action. He also knows, and this is helpful for Paul, especially as you see in verse three, as he says, because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews, therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently. Agrippa knows Judaism. Now, obviously Agrippa does not practice Judaism, especially if the rumors about he and Bernice are true. But he knows it. And Paul uses this. Paul begins with his history, some generalities with respect to his early life as a Jew, lived as a Jew, became a Pharisee. His manner of life was well known. And Paul even says, the Jews can testify to these things. They know my manner of life. They know what I was like beforehand. He became a Pharisee of Pharisees, a zealous one at that. And he gives in that opening a general statement of his hope on God's promises and his hope of the resurrection, which any Pharisee also would have stated. But he builds on that. In fact, he goes on to say in verse nine and following that he was so zealous he persecuted this way. He persecuted those who were under the name of Jesus. He opposed the name of Jesus of Nazareth. It's what he once was. It's what he once did. But then, of course, we come to the part that we are all so familiar with. Paul's conversion. Paul's on the way to Damascus and he relays his meeting of Christ. Now when we say Paul is knocked off his horse, that can only be metaphorical because the text and every retelling of the account does not say Paul was on a horse. So be aware of that. But he is knocked down. It's midday, and that's significant, because midday, the sun would be the brightest. But what he sees is brighter by far. He sees Christ. He comes face to face with Christ. And of course, as a result, we know he's blinded. He gives the details of this, being knocked down. He retells the words of Christ, particularly focused on his commission. what Jesus commissions Paul to do. Now, Paul uses the words here, and Luke recounts them, Christ appeared and appointed Paul. The word that is used here in this connection, appoint, the significance of it, it has the sense behind it, not just simply, I pick you, but that the pick was made beforehand. Paul was ordained by God beforehand. That's why Christ at that moment appoints him. I highly doubt that Festus and Agrippa and those listening would have missed that point. Though certainly they would not have believed it. Then as Paul continues his story, his retelling, especially in verse 16, after being told that he's been appointed about midway through to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Much of the language that is used here by Paul is reminiscent. It is similar to what is found in Jeremiah chapter 1. It is also similar to what David says in Psalm 106. Paul is making use of Scripture because he knows that Agrippa is at least familiar with it. He's alluding to it. He's alluding to the fact that what is being described here is prophesied by God from of old. This is an example for you and for me as we bring the gospel to know your audience. Paul takes advantage of Agrippa and his knowledge of Judaism. What is the purpose of this commission though? Well verse 18 tells us to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. That's Paul's retelling of what Christ told him. Some of this language also comes from Isaiah 42 verse 7. The purpose of the Gospel is to transform. You see, the Gospel is not just true news. It is good news. It does something. It did something to Paul. And that's Paul's point. The gospel transformed him. It transforms all of us. It transformed Paul from a persecutor of Christ and his church to a promoter and builder of Christ's church. It transformed him as one who was probably loved by the Jews to one who was hated by the Jews. What could account for that other than the transforming power of the Gospel? And so, taking a step back, you and I need to ask ourselves, has the Gospel transformed us? Is there something in your life that people see that is truly different? For those of you that later in life became Christians, did people see the markage transformation that the gospel had in your life? The gospel transforms, and evidence of that is a complete turnaround. Complete repentance, turning from Satan, from darkness, to light, to God. That's what the gospel does. That's what true conversion looks like. It is beyond just facts. Paul is not merely saying these things are true. Yes, he's doing that. but he's giving proof of his own life and what it does. And he's doing this before all these people. Paul sums up them. This is why it is the Jews are seeking to kill him. He summarizes his message simply this way, that this is just what the Old Testament said about Christ. There's nothing new here. And that's how he's appealing to Agrippa's knowledge. Now, notice Festus' response. And this is the response that some will get. Paul, you are out of your mind. Your great learning is driving you out of your mind. The truth of the matter is, there are those in the world that think Christians are crazy. They do. And there will be times you will share your faith, you will describe what Christ has done for your life, and they will say, you're nuts. I can't see God. Forgetting that there's lots of things that they can't see that they believe in. But there will be those in the world that will think you're crazy. They are blinded to the truth. And that's what happens here with Festus. Of course, Paul says, no, there's no way I'm out of my mind here. I'm in my right mind. I am speaking true and rational words. That aspect that we need to remember is that as we share our testimony, share the gospel, what we need to share is that which is true and rational. The gospel is not irrational. What the gospel has done to you is not irrational. Faith is not opposed to rationality. It is not irrational to believe and to trust. I mean, after all, anybody who drives a car puts faith in their brakes. And how do you know you put faith in your brakes? Because you use them, trusting that they will work. There's nothing irrational about that. There's nothing that says, from a logical perspective, that the brakes are going to work the next time. You trust that they will. But we do so not irrationally. So it is with Christ. There's nothing irrational with trusting in Christ. There's nothing irrational with the realities of the gospel and the transforming power of the gospel. You and I could think of individuals that the gospel transformed so dramatically that there could be no possible explanation other than the reality of Christ. That's Paul's testimony. What else could describe or what else could explain this radical, radical transformation in his life from persecutor to preacher? But isn't it interesting that after saying, Paul telling Festus that he's in his right mind, he points back to the king. The king Agrippa, he does not say that Paul is out of his mind. Do you notice that? You see, what Paul said was true. Agrippa does know what's going on. He understands what Paul is saying and he understands it well, but he doesn't believe. Now, I understand that the text here, as Paul says a little bit further down, In verse 27, King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe. The point Paul is making is not he believes savingly. He believes that he knows what is being said is true. He assents to his knowledge of what the Jewish religion says. He acknowledges that what Paul says matches up. That's the difference between mere assent and saving faith. When we speak of faith, we usually describe it as having three characteristics, as it were. There are what's known as the cognitive knowledge. We know what it says. Then there's the assent to it. We know that it's true. But then ultimately, is there trust? That's the key ingredient to saving faith. Trust. As we know, Satan assents to the truth of the gospel. He knows it's true, but he doesn't trust. This is what James's point is. You say you have faith without works. You say you have faith. Well, good, the demons believe. And they shudder at his name. They have mere assent. Agrippa had mere assent. And my friends, the hard reality is there are those that we will come across that know the truth of the gospel, but will not put their trust in Christ. That's a hard one to swallow. And the sad reality is some of those individuals can quote Bible verses better than we can. Some of them have even gone to seminary. This is the difference between true conversion and mere knowledge. Do not think for a moment that because you know John 3.16 that that automatically makes you a Christian. Do you trust and put your faith in the Christ of John 3.16? That is the instrument by which you are saved, not knowledge. Yes, knowledge is involved, but it is trust in Christ that saves, that transforms. You see, the gospel is not mere knowledge. It's not about facts. What it is, it's about turning from darkness to light. It's turning from the power of Satan to the power of God. It is what gives forgiveness. Knowledge does not bring you forgiveness. Now, having said that, this is not in any way to be taken as me telling you that, hey, don't bother studying, just believe. If you have opportunity to study the rich doctrines found in God's word, take it. Don't miss it. Skip the movie, read a good book, read a Puritan, et cetera. I get it. I also recognize we don't all have all the time in the world to do such things. But don't just simply fill your head. Let the gospel transform your life. That's what needs to take place. Well, Agrippa really doesn't say much, except in verse 28, the ESV has it as a question. Some translations have it as a statement. The Greek is not all that clear as to which way we should take it, but the sense is the same either way. You would have me in such a short time be persuaded to be a Christian. There's a, there's a hint almost of sarcasm here, but Paul essentially agrees. Yes, I would. Not just you, but everyone, that you would all be like me, transformed by the power of the gospel, except without these chains. Festus may be ignorant. Agrippa is not. But the fact that Agrippa is not ignorant does not save him. Well, despite all of this, despite the ignorance on Festus' part, and even the head knowledge of some of the things that Paul speaks of, and the fact that these two men are clearly not saved, they both acknowledge the truth about Paul. He's not guilty of anything. As they leave, they're saying to one another, this man has done nothing to deserve death or imprisonment. It's not even that he hasn't committed a capital crime. He doesn't even need to be in prison. But hey, he appealed to Caesar. The sad thing is that Festus and Agrippa had the authority to just let him go. But they didn't. It shows that as leaders, they are unwilling to make the tough decisions. They succumbed to the pressure of how they would look before the Jews. And so they looked for an excuse. And Paul, whether he should have or not, is immaterial. He gave them the opportunity to pass the buck along. And they did. It goes back to that question of fairness again. My friends, I hate to tell you this, the world will not treat you fairly all the time. We already know of Christians that don't treat us fairly all the time. So it shouldn't shock us when the world treats us unfairly. It won't happen all the time, but it shouldn't shock us. It will. The question is, will your life continue to reflect a life of the transforming power of the gospel in such circumstances as it did for the Apostle Paul? Will your life testify to the transforming power of the gospel to the world around you that knows it's treating you unfairly? That's the thought that we should take from this text. or at least one of them. The other reality is, as I mentioned, Luke is presenting Paul's defense, but it's not really just the defense of Paul. It's a defense of the whole church. Christianity is legitimate. There's no reason for the world to hate Christianity. There just simply is not. It is a defense of what we believe about the gospel. We need to proclaim that defense. We need to share that defense. We need to share Christ. Let the gospel continue to transform your lives. You who put your faith in him, continue to pray that the spirit would effectually apply his word to your life. that the world would see that your life is a living gospel testimony. That's what happened with Paul. And so, hearkening back to what we discussed last week, do you not see that the Lord had Paul exactly where the Lord wanted him? To testify to the truth by his own life, not just his words, but his life. of the transforming power of Christ's gospel, the power to save sinners like you and me. May the Lord give us that strength, that courage, that faith, and the power of the gospel to transform lives. Let's pray.